About the Environments panel

Specify the following environment properties:

Name

The name for the environment.

Access

The access group of users who can use this environment.

In the Environments panel, select a variable to view the Variables panel. Use the Variables panel to specify the following properties:

Name

Variable names can use only alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) and the underscore character ( _ ) in a name. The maximum length is 255 bytes:

• Single-byte character sets: 255 characters
• Double-byte character sets: 127 characters

Value

Variable values have the following characteristics:

• Length: Values can be any length (up to the operating system limit, if there is one).
• Special characters: The characters %, $, [, ], {, }, \, ", and ' have special meanings for the pre-parser (before OS evaluation) and for evaluation on the operating system. Avoid using them. Escape them with a backslash (\) to pass them. See Interpretation of variables in steps.

  If a value is in single quotes, variable names are passed as literals rather than interpreted. For example, a variable assignment MyEnv='$env' causes the string $env to be assigned to MyEnv, rather than the value of variable $env.

• Variables in values: If a variable is in a variable value, that variable is interpreted when a step using the variable is run.
• Pulldown values: To specify items for a pulldown variable, set the variable type to Pulldown List, save the variable, and then edit it. Click the Pulldown Options tab to add items to the pulldown. See Creating pulldowns for a variable.
• Dot commands as values: Some dot commands can be used as the value of an environment variable; in these cases, the system replaces the dot command with other values. See Using dot commands in variables.
• Carriage returns: Variables do not store carriage returns. You can assign a multiple line value to a variable, as shown in the following example. The contents of the file text.txt are assigned to the variable test:

  .bset env "test = `type text.txt`"

  The lines in the file are concatenated. For example, suppose the file's contents were as follows:

  A first line
  And a second line

  The variable's value then becomes the following:

  A first lineAnd a second line

Type

Variables are assigned one of these types:

• Standard - The default. The variable can have a value and action assigned.
• Include - The variable value points to another environment to include. All variables in the environment are included.
  Note: The Include variable type replaces the .include functionality provided in prior releases.
• Pulldown List - The variable contains a set of values that users can choose from. After a pulldown list variable is created, you can select it and click on the Pulldown Options tab to add values.

Action

One of the following:

• Set: The default option. The specified value is assigned to the variable. The variable is created if it does not exist.
• Set if not set: This action assigns the value to the variable only if the variable does not already have a value. See About variables.
• Append: The value is appended to the current value for the variable. The OS-specific PATH delimiter is added between the values:
  • Windows®: semicolon (;)
  • UNIX® or Linux®: colon (:)
• Prepend: The value is inserted in front of the current value. The OS-specific PATH delimiter is added between the values:
  • Windows: semicolon (;)
  • UNIX or Linux: colon (:)
• Clear: The value is set to an empty string. If the Value property contains a value, it is not used.
• Delete / Unset: The variable is deleted from the current applied environment. If the Value property contains a value, it is not used.
• Assign Hidden: The value is displayed as *****, in logs and user interface. Use this option to store sensitive information.

  Assign Hidden variables are protected from editing by default. If you do not have the Edit Hidden Tags permission set, you cannot edit these values. However, you can delete and recreate them if the permissions are set. If the Edit Hidden Tags permission is set, the values can be edited and then entered for use. This behavior prevents you from displaying the value of an Assign Hidden variable by changing its type to Set.

  If the Action value of the environment variable is Assign Hidden, the Type and Action values of the variable cannot be changed. If the Action value of the environment variable is not Assign Hidden, you cannot change the Action to Assign Hidden.

  Note: It is recommended to increase length of the Action value to enhance security.
  Note: If a variable in a step is set to Assign Hidden, the other variables in the step default to Assign Hidden.

On Project

Defines how a variable is used when you manually start a job. This property affects only variables that are used in environments assigned to a project. The property does not affect variables when the job is running. The value can be one of the following:

• Normal: The variable behaves normally when assigned to a project.
• Required: A value must exist for the variable. Variables with this property are highlighted in the Start panel. A value defined in the variable definition is sufficient. If a value is not defined, a job cannot be quick-started or started.

  If a job containing Required variables is started by the scheduler rather than a user, the variables are left unchanged if they currently have a value or blank if they do not have a value.

• Read-Only: The value cannot be changed.
• Suppress Display: The variable is not displayed on the Start Job panel. However, the variable exists and can be used in steps.
• Must Change: The variable value must be changed. Top-level variables with this property are highlighted in the Start panel; if a new value is not entered, the job cannot be quick-started or started.
  Note: If a job that contains Must Change variables is started by the scheduler rather than a user, the variable values are not changed. Also, if a job that contains Must Change variables is started by a class property, the variable values are not changed. Class properties include Start on purge, Start on entry, and Start on exit.